BAAY, Royston “Roy” Stanley

Roy Baay beloved husband of Viola Baay of Calgary, passed away on Friday, November 15, 2013 at the age of 82 years.

Roy was born in Lethbridge and moved with his parents to Calgary in 1934. Following the death of his father in 1941, during WWII, Roy became “the man of the family”. He had an illustrious school career at St. Mary’s Boys School, serving as president of the school council and discovering a lifelong love for directing, acting and singing with the school drama society. He moved to Peace River in 1952 and returned to Calgary in 1953 to marry Viola Aiello who remained his best friend for over sixty years. Returning to Peace River, they started their own family and became a part of the Imperial Oil family. In 1956 Roy, Vi and Terri moved to Dawson Creek, BC, with the relocation of the Imperial Oil family. Sharon and Paul joined the family and resided there until 1964. While in Dawson Creek, he brought his passion for the arts to so many people through his productions and his paintings. In 1964, Roy began an amazing career in the Calgary Oil and Gas business. As a sideline, he continued directing and being involved with the arts. He continued to set an example of leading community involvement, whether it was church, school, serving on the U of C senate, community, work in the oil and gas sector and family. Roy’s entrepreneurial spirit and ability to think outside the box, guided him through many ventures over the next forty years. He remained involved with the oil and gas business through Baayland Consultants and Remington Energy. He branched into farming with Pacific Rim Ranches and continued to enhance his love of collecting, creating and sharing art. At this point, Roy began an incredible journey with his family of paying it forward. His legacy encompasses family memories, good times with friends and his continued ability to tell a story and entertain. As a result of Roy’s health complications in 1988, Roy and Vi chose to make a significant contribution to the Kidney Foundation in 2008, to continue to improve other people’s lives. Roy truly was a man to whom many people looked up to, respected and loved deeply. “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love but the greatest of these is Love.”

He was predeceased by his father Cornelis, his mother Neeltje “Loraine”, sister Mildred, and brother Larry.

Relatives and friends are invited to Prayers and Tributes at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church (5340 – 4th Street S.W.) on Monday, November 18, 2013 at 5:30 p.m.

Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church (5340 – 4th Street S.W.) on Tuesday, November 19, 2013 at 10:30 a.m. Graveside Service to follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery. Condolences may be forwarded through www.mcinnisandholloway.com. If friends so desire, memorial donations for the Roy and Vi Baay Chair in Kidney Reasearch can be sent to the University of Calgary, Faculty of Medicine, Fund Development Office, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary AB, T2N 4N1. Please include “University of Calgary” in the cheque payable line. Special thanks to Dr. Hemmelgarn, Dr. Hogan, Dr. Naidoo, Unit 46 staff at Foothills Hospital for their love and compassionate care.

Condolence Messages

So sorry to hear of Mr. Baay’s passing. As soon as I heard I was flooded with fond memories of a wonderful man. I am grateful for having had the chance to know Mr. Baay. Let your hearts be lightened by your memories. Thinking of you all.

To Vi and all the Baays, condolences on Roy’s passing. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all at this difficult time. Roy was an incredible friend to us. We will miss him and remember him very fondly.

Vi and Family
We were so saddened to hear of Roy’s passing. May the memory of his generous spirit, infectious sense of humor, and artistic flair lift your hearts during this difficult time. You are all in our thoughts and prayers.
Love,
The Fowler Family

Vi and family,
My heart goes out to you. I know what a treasure you have lost.
“Sleep now at length the all embracing sleep
Long was the sowing day ,rest now and reap
Now night has come to thee —- Please God of rest
Thy best has done his best.”—————–Christina Rosetti

Dear Vi and Family;
I had the wonderful experience of working with Roy for 18 years while I was on the Board of Directors for St. Mary’s High School Alumni. Roy was hard working, an eager participant, and well informed. He contributed so much – his commitment to the arts is still being appreciated and enjoyed by students, parents and staff through his generosity to the drama theatre upgrading. He will be truly missed by many. I will forever have fond memories of Roy. Please accept my condolences. May he rest in peace.

Vi and family
I was very saddened to hear of Roy’s passing. He was a great man and I feel very blessed to be able to say I knew him. Every time I go to see my dad I am always reminded of him and his family when I see his painting in Dads room. I am very sorry I am unable to attend his service. You are all in my thoughts and prayers. God bless.

We are so sorry to read about the passing of your dear husband, and father Roy. Ivan and I never officially knew of Roy but through many of our Imperial friends, his name came up many times of the great times and accomplishments. Vi, as you know, through Canadian Women’s Club, I (Jean) feel that I have known you for a long time. We have many mutual friends, and want to let you know, that we are thinking of you and sorry we can’t make the services. I will catch up to you in January at the Luncheon.
Take care and may Roy “Rest in peace”. I am sure you have many, many happy memories, and will be able to smile at many of the great times together. God Bless. Keep Smiling!!

Mrs. Baay, Terri, Lorne, Sharon, Brian, Paul, Gillian and families: We were very sad to hear of Roy’s passing. We send our deepest Sympathy and caring thoughts from our family to yours. Bill and Donna and family

I was saddened to learn of Roy’s passing this morning. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Roy for over a dozen years now and indeed it’s always been a pleasure. Whenever I thought of Roy, the words “consummate gentlemen” always came to mind. That is how I will remember him. My thoughts are with you all at this time.

Sincerest sympathy Vi, family in your loss. May Roy rest in peace – he is Dancing With the Angels in Life Everlasting – always there for you.
Thinking of you Jackie & family (EGH classmate) – know how close you were to your dear brother, Roy.

Dear Vi and Family:
I was very sorry to learn of Roy’s passing. I join many others in mourning his loss while also being grateful for his life and the many contributions he made to the oil community and the cultural community. I am proud to have known him, and send best wishes and prayers to you.
Graeme Menzies

Dear Jackie,
My deepest sympathy at this time of loss for you. A brother is important and it sounds like yours was very active and caring. I send prayers for his intentions and for you to support you in your grief.

Dear Vi and family;
We were saddened to hear about Roy but at the same time overwhelmed with a rush of happy memories of him. He was certainly a unique and talented individual and he shared so much with the people around him. God will surely find a spot to utilize all that talent and enthusiasm. We will keep him in our prayers.
Ann and Keith.

A quick note to express our deepest condolences on the loss of Roy, a wonderful, sharing and thoughtful man. I harken back to our Zoo experiences and see that Roy’s legacy will be forwarded through kidney research … a fabulous cause that our community much appreciates … now and in the future. Again, heartfelt condolences on your loss.

Vi, we are saddened at Roy’s death. Though we won’t be with you at the services, you and all the family are in our thoughts. Roy was SPECIAL and we have so many memories, not least his baby sitting for our two eldest while we played badminton and Nick sitting for Terri and Sharon while you square danced. Roy convincing Nick, who was reluctant, to be his stage manager for Oklahoma. On and on with many humourous tales from Roy. Roy will be missed by all who knew him.

We were saddened to hear of your loss. My parents Art and Helen Holden, my sister Joan and myself wanted to extend our condolences to you, Terri, Sharon and Paul. We have fond memories of your years in Haysboro. Please know our thoughts and prayers are with you all.

Mrs Baay and family,
We met your outstanding husband through our sports connection with Sharon and Brian. What stands out in my mind, are characteristics I see passed on to your children and grandchildren.
Their ease and interest in others,their outlook and welcoming way are the things I saw in your husband.
Please accept our heartfelt condolence on the loss of a great family man

We were both shocked and saddened to hear of Roy’s death. Although we knew him only for a relatively short time, we always enjoyed his company, his personality and his many attributes.
We know he will be sorley missed by everyone, but hope and pray your grieving will be short and sweet due to the many fond and fun memories off him.
Do take care of yourselves, and know our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Best regards
Norman and Angela Lussier

Dear Vi, Terri, Sharon & Paul, I was so sorry to see that Roy had passed away. I still remember you from Hallmark Place when the girls babysat for us. I also remember canvassing for heart & stroke when I drew a blank when I came to your door so tactfully asked you how you spelt your last name. Thankfully, it was unusual. Roy’s obituary was very touching and he accomplished so much to say nothing of both your philanthropic contributions. Wishing you peace and may fond memories sustain you. With sincere sympathy, Doris

I would like to take this opportunity to express Fay and my appreciation for the long friendship we enjoyed with Roy. He was truly a remarkable person with so many abilities and accomplishments. He has been a great roll model for so many, including us, and we will always treasure our many years of association with him and Vi. At one of Roy’s many parties he chose a theme of “Man of Many Hats”, and I would like to borrow that to talk about a few of my memories of him. Don’t worry, I am not going to cover all of the hats he wore, as there are just too many of them, just a few that stick out when I think of him.

Probably the cowboy hat was one that really suited him. Most would associate that with his venture into the cattle business with Pacific Rim Ranch or perhaps his and Vi’s great love of Calgary and including their enthusiastic support of the football and hockey teams, but I think of our many visits with them to the Calgary Stampede. No matter what else we did there, there were three things that Roy insisted on. First was we had to search the Midway for the largest greasiest hamburger for his annual gourmet lunch. Then something that we really enjoyed, going through all of the exhibit of all the Cowboy artists and this would be followed by a visit to the cattle barns, interesting, but maybe not so much. Anyway, it was always an event that we looked forward to.

I first met Roy 60 years ago when we were starting our careers with Imperial Oil in Peace River. It was here that he was first trying out some of his many hats. He stood out as a very impressive energetic and talented young man. The single fellows lived in a trailer camp and he put on his first entrepreneurial cap by setting up a laundry service for us. A sign of things to come. His organizational and artistic talents were also evident as he put together produced and directed several Musical stage productions for the town, that were very successful and well done. I never got to try out for them as I am tone deaf, but Roy made sure everyone was involved and put me to work with the stage crew. To make sure he had the proper venue he also organized work crews and put on his painters hat. Not the one he is well known for as an accomplished artist, but the house painter one, as he had us all working on repainting the church hall for his production. He continued with other shows, when the company moved to Dawson Creek, producing Finigan’s Rainbow and the Red Mill. Fay was busy raising our family then but did get to be a part of his successor Paul Mackinnon’s “Anything Goes” and really enjoyed the experience, as a result of Roy’s legacy.

During that time he also put on his entertainers hat as he George Pusey and Jack Pickle did their impersonation of the Ratpack and sang for many gatherings. They always put on a great show.

While we were in Peace River it was obvious that he also had story telling and salesmanship capabilities as he was able to convince Vi to marry him and leave Calgary and move up to live in frozen north country in the “Riviera de la Paix”

Probably the hat we most saw was his travelling one. The four of us had many memorable, and unforgettable trips that were really highlights for us. Roy an Vi were the greatest travelling companions. We had our first trip to Honolulu and Maui with them, and fantastic trips to Barbados, and one to Thailand and Japan, as well as going out to Vancouver for the World Fair. These will always be remembered as being very special for us.

I would like to tip my hat to a very remarkable friend of many hats, and note that the one he wore most proudly was that of a devoutly religious family man who put them first and now has an impressive legacy of descendants who will in turn be wearing many hats of their own design. We treasure our association with him and Vi.

Please accept our condolences. I remember how Roy would always take the time to stop by for a chat and express an interest in what we were working on when he would drop in to the office in the early days of True. Coming from someone who really knew what he was talking about, it always gave me a real sense of encouragement.

The Calgary Foundation would like to offer our heartfelt condolences to Roy’s family. His thoughtfulness and generosity through our Foundation has provided opportunities for many young golfers in our community. His legacy will continue in perpetuity, with our thankful remembrance. – Marie Stevens, Calgary Foundation